Protesters appeared Friday outside a sold-out fundraiser for Rep. Thelma Drake that featured Karl Rove, calling for the arrest of the lightning-rod Republican guru. Democrats had been calling for Drake's re-election campaign to cancel the luncheon at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in the Virginia Beach Town Center. Rove arrived early Friday afternoon, and about 40 protesters spent more than three hours picketing - even staging a mock trial, complete with robes and wigs. "It's a shame that Thelma Drake decided it was OK to spend time with Karl Rove when she may very well be voting on him for contempt of Congress in a couple of weeks," said Jared Leopold, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party.

Republican political guru Karl Rove was in Williamsburg to talk economics Thursday, but the crowd of business executives couldn't resist getting the famous - or infamous - campaigner to talk about the 2012 presidential race. The Virginia Chamber of Commerce emcee for the event noted that Virginia is frequently called the "Mother of Presidents" - although some folks in Ohio might take issue with that - and asked if Rove thought the state might be getting pregnant once again. "I see a sort of Scotch-Irish name in front of me," Rove said, getting chuckles from the crowd.

CRIMINAL ACT Republicans must be in constant denial about this horrible administration. The latest scandal about a high-level administration official, Karl Rove, leaking top-level security information about one of our CIA operatives in retaliation for actions taken against the administration by her husband is absolutely criminal. Let's see what President Bush does with this new information. James Clark Williamsburg INTENT WAS CLEAR Let's not kid ourselves or let White House officials try to kid us. Most of us only have one wife at a time, and Karl Rove's identification of Joseph Wilson's wife as a CIA officer is just that: the identification of a CIA officer.

Renowned Republican strategist Karl Rove said Thursday that the Obama Administration should shut down the WikiLeaks website that has exposed thousands of secret military and diplomatic documents and go after the organization's founder. "Charge him under the espionage act," Rove said of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder and transparency advocate. "This man is nothing but a serial leaker. I say go after him and go after him hard. " Assange's release of classified communiqués is "going to cause incalculable damage to the United States," Rove said, and could "cost the lives of Americans and our allies around the world.

Patriotism? This administration loves to show off its patriotism. Is it patriotic to leak an undercover CIA agent's name for political gain? It may be a game for Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, but it is life and death for the rest of us. H.D. Bender Tabb Integrity gone Following two years of denials, we now have the public admission by the attorney for our president's deputy chief of staff, Karl Rove, that he in fact did reveal the identity of a covert CIA agent to a reporter.

It's hard to predict the future, as Yogi Berra is said to have said, because it hasn't happened yet. Nevertheless, an intriguing glimpse at the next generation of Republican Party leaders could be found in the streets and saloons of midtown Manhattan during the party's national convention, if you knew where to look. At one elegant midtown Manhattan spot optimistically called the Windfall Bar and Grill, state chairmen of the College Republican National Committee held a happy-hour gathering with one of their own alumni, Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political strategist.

Local Democrats are calling on U.S Rep. Thelma Drake to cancel her sold-out Friday fundraiser here with Karl Rove because the former White House adviser defied a congressional subpoena last week. Drake's campaign manager called the action "partisan political theater," and said the lunch fundraiser at Ruth's Chris Steak House will not be canceled. Drake, a Republican, represents Virginia Beach and parts of Norfolk, Hampton and the Eastern Shore. State Delegates Joe Bouchard, D-Virginia Beach, and Bobby Mathieson, D-Virginia Beach, Monday denounced Rove's scheduled appearance in a telephone news conference.

Senators call for the presidential adviser to apologize or resign. Republicans defend him. Still smarting from a backlash following Sen. Richard Durbin's comparison of Guantanamo to a gulag, Democrats on Thursday pounced on presidential adviser Karl Rove's suggestion that in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, liberals lacked the fortitude to fight the war on terror. Rove, whose role as President Bush's chief strategist has brought him scorn from many Democrats, said at a Manhattan fundraiser Wednesday night, "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

It's not just "Bush's Brain" that's leaving the White House, but a whole generation of Republican theorizing that is being shunted aside. As Karl Rove exits, a newer conservative movement will enter - which, come to think of it, is actually the older conservative movement that Rove & Co. sought to bury. I first met Rove in 1982, when I was a young White House staffer. Having known most top political operatives, at least on the Republican side, over the past 30 years, I can fairly state that Rove is as savvy as any of them when it comes to campaigns and elections.

By Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten, Los Angeles Times | July 14, 2005

If Karl Rove were to leave the White House, the vacancy would be nearly impossible to fill. President Bush once said he would fire any White House staffer who had leaked the identity of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. But if that source were Karl Rove, the president's longtime political guru, a firing would be a devastating blow to the White House. Rove, after all, is more than just a top presidential aide: He was the architect of Bush's rise to power. He orchestrates policy initiatives and is aggressively charting a course for long-lasting Republican dominance.

Conservative political strategist Karl Rove is coming to Williamsburg next week to headline the Virginia Chamber of Commerce's annual economic summit. Rove, who has been called "Bush's Brain" because of his influential record guiding the decisions of former President George W. Bush, remains a potent political figure on the right, offering commentary and analysis for Fox News. But the controversial political background of the man Bush nicknamed "turd blossom" is still a lightning rod for criticism from moderates and Democrats because of his slash-and-burn election style.

Race not the issue In response to Obama running on half-truth: Can you imagine the outrage by many if Barack Obama claimed to be white? In this country we categorize people all the time. That black man, that Asian or Indian person. What do you want him to run as, "Other"? It wasn't so long ago in this country that if you had one drop of black blood, you were black. Period. This issue has nothing to do with qualifications for being president. I cannot fathom how anyone could vote for more Bush, when he has taken this country to the brink of disaster and bankruptcy and killed thousands of Americans, not to mention ten of thousands of Iraqis, because of a lie.Linda Walker Hampton What Christian?

Honest work One thing that surely does not seem to "change" with the Barack Obama ticket is the theme of "Those dirty rich people, which are conveniently those who tend to vote Republican, exploiting you with their exemptions and tax cuts that only they are privy to." It's been one of those themes for many elections past. Now let me go figure. Some of these who trumpet this theme are the wealthiest folks in the country: the Kennedys, Pelosi and on and on. They don't mind their tax cuts and exceptions.

Call us Denunciation Nation. Seldom does the day fail to produce, via e-mail, letter or press release, a stern demand for some candidate to repudiate some supporter or other because of some affiliated sin. Do you think we might give this stuff a rest? Just last week, Democrats were beating the drum for 2nd District Rep. Thelma Drake to nix her fund-raising steak lunch with GOP guru Karl Rove. Because Rove defied a congressional subpoena, you see, there should be no filet, no baked potato, no salad, even.

Protesters appeared Friday outside a sold-out fundraiser for Rep. Thelma Drake that featured Karl Rove, calling for the arrest of the lightning-rod Republican guru. Democrats had been calling for Drake's re-election campaign to cancel the luncheon at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in the Virginia Beach Town Center. Rove arrived early Friday afternoon, and about 40 protesters spent more than three hours picketing - even staging a mock trial, complete with robes and wigs. "It's a shame that Thelma Drake decided it was OK to spend time with Karl Rove when she may very well be voting on him for contempt of Congress in a couple of weeks," said Jared Leopold, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party.

Local Democrats are calling on U.S Rep. Thelma Drake to cancel her sold-out Friday fundraiser here with Karl Rove because the former White House adviser defied a congressional subpoena last week. Drake's campaign manager called the action "partisan political theater," and said the lunch fundraiser at Ruth's Chris Steak House will not be canceled. Drake, a Republican, represents Virginia Beach and parts of Norfolk, Hampton and the Eastern Shore. State Delegates Joe Bouchard, D-Virginia Beach, and Bobby Mathieson, D-Virginia Beach, Monday denounced Rove's scheduled appearance in a telephone news conference.

Strategist Karl Rove says Va. Republicans cannot assume the GOP favorite will become governor. President Bush is more than willing to play a cameo role in the Virginia governor's race on behalf of Republican Jerry Kilgore, the president's chief political adviser said Saturday. Karl Rove, who addressed a crowd of more than 300 at the annual state Republican Commonwealth Gala, said details have not been worked out yet. "If they want him, I'm sure he'd do it," he told reporters afterward.

Politics As a running mate for George W. Bush, Dick Cheney is -- as I recently suggested -- a dead weight. And so Bush, already trailing in the polls against John Kerry, could end up as dead meat in November. Which leads to the question: What potential running mate could actually provide a lift to Bush's re-election chances? Vice President Halliburton isn't the only problem the president faces. However, Bush can separate himself from Cheney more easily than, say, the problem of jobs heading to India.

It's not just "Bush's Brain" that's leaving the White House, but a whole generation of Republican theorizing that is being shunted aside. As Karl Rove exits, a newer conservative movement will enter - which, come to think of it, is actually the older conservative movement that Rove & Co. sought to bury. I first met Rove in 1982, when I was a young White House staffer. Having known most top political operatives, at least on the Republican side, over the past 30 years, I can fairly state that Rove is as savvy as any of them when it comes to campaigns and elections.

Democratic Senate challenger Jim Webb says Sen. George Allen's ads are a "Karl Rove campaign." Jim Webb's tolerance meter hit the red zone Thursday. Webb, the Democratic candidate for the Senate, is normally reserved, but he lashed out at the ads being aired by Sen. George Allen, saying "this is a Karl Rove campaign. ... "Dick Wadhams, who is running this campaign, worked for Karl Rove for three years. He ran the campaign to take out (former South Dakota Sen.) Tom Daschle two years ago, and they did it the same way."